BACKGROUND: Traumatic spinal cord injury remains a serious public health and social problem. Although incidence rates are decreasing in our environment, it is a high cost condition that is associated with great disability. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological and demographic characteristics of traumatic spinal cord injury and to analyse its epidemiological changes. METHODS: This study was an observational study with prospective monitoring of all traumatic spinal cord injury patients in the Canary Islands, Spain (2...

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, delivery of cost-effective "essential neurosurgery" in resource-limited communities has been recognized as an indispensable part of health care and a global health priority. The purpose of this study was to review outcomes from operative management of spine trauma at a resource limited government hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and to provide an epidemiologic report to guide prevention programs. METHODS: A retrospective review of a prospective neurosurgical database was performed to identify risk factors for spine trauma and severe spinal cord injury (ASIA A or ASIA B) and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of surgery for patients treated at Preah Kossamak Hospital for subaxial and thoracolumbar spine trauma from 2013 to 2016...

BACKGROUND: Cervical facet dislocations are among the most common traumatic spinal injuries. Posterior, anterior, and combined surgical approaches have been described and are widely debated. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate efficacy in anterior-only surgical management for subaxial cervical facet dislocations. METHODS: A consistent surgical algorithm for cervical facet dislocation was applied over a 19-yr period and analyzed retrospectively in adults with acute unilateral or bilateral facet dislocation of the subaxial cervical spine...

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord injury in the cervical spine is commonly accompanied by cord compression and urgent surgical decompression may improve neurological recovery. However, the extent of spinal cord compression and its relationship to neurological recovery following traumatic thoracolumbar spinal cord injury is unclear. The purpose of this study was to quantify maximum cord compression following thoracolumbar spinal cord injury and to assess the relationship among cord compression, cord swelling, and eventual clinical outcome...

STUDY DESIGN: Hospital-based retrospective study Objectives: To evaluate the pathogenetic features of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) during 1999-2016 according to changed injury etiology with time, explore different characteristics of patients suffered a TSCI during 1999-2007 and 2008-2016 in Tianjin, China. SETTING: Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Methods: In this study, the medical records of TSCI patients were obtained from Tianjin Medical University General Hospital (TMUGH) from 1st January 1999 to 31th December 2016...

STUDY DESIGN: National, multicenter, cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to provide overall quality of life (QOL) and health utility (HU) values for patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) stratified by injury level and neurological status. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Traumatic SCI is a leading cause of disability. Varying injury level and severity generate a spectrum of neurological dysfunction and reduction in long-term QOL...

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for cord compression is a safe and effective procedure with good outcomes. However, worsening of myelopathy is the most feared adverse event of the surgery. We report the case of a 36-year-old male patient who presented with an acute non-traumatic C5-6 cervical disc herniation causing incomplete quadriparesis. He underwent an uncomplicated ACDF at C5-6, and after an initial period of improvement, he developed a delayed onset of an anterior cord syndrome on day 3, without any discerning cause...

OBJECTIVES: To specify outcomes and identify prognostic factors of neurologic and functional recovery in patients with an acute traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) associated with cervical spinal canal stenosis (SCS), without spinal instability. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using data from a Regional Department for SCI rehabilitation in France. A description of the population characteristics, clinical data and neurological and functional outcomes of all patients treated for acute SCI due to cervical trauma associated with SCS was performed...

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to analyze single center outcome measures of spinal cord injury (SCI)-specific rehabilitation (SCISR) in Germany. SETTING: The study was conducted at an SCI specialized rehabilitation center. METHODS: Nonparametric tests for outcome description such as SCIM and length of stay. Logistic regression for outcome prediction was used. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty patients (113 men, 47 women) with a mean age of 64...

STUDY DESIGN: Observational prospective population-based incidence study. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to assess the incidence of traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCIs) and incidence rates, in order to provide estimates by age, gender, characteristics and cause. SETTING: This study was conducted at acute-care spinal cord injury (SCI) hospitals and SCI centers from 11 Italian regions, between 1 October 2013 and 30 September 2014...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Laryngeal penetration-aspiration, the entry of material into the airways, is considered the most severe subtype of dysphagia and is common among patients with acute cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate risk factors for penetration-aspiration in patients with acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (TCSCI). STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective cohort study. PATIENT SAMPLE: Thirty-seven patients with TCSCI were included in the study...

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. OBJECTIVES: Dysphagia is a relatively common secondary complication in patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injuries (TCSCI). The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of aspiration and penetration in patients with acute TCSCI. SETTING: Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland. METHODS: A total of 46 patients with TCSCI were evaluated with a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS)...

BACKGROUND: Recovering hand function has important implications for improving independence of patients with tetraplegia after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive neuromodulation technique that has potential to improve motor function. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of one session of 1 mA, 2 mA, and sham anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) in the upper extremity (hand) motor performance (grasp and lease) in patients with chronic cervical SCI...

BACKGROUND: Spinal motion restriction (SMR) after traumatic injury has been a mainstay of prehospital trauma care for more than 3 decades. Recent guidelines recommend a selective approach with cervical spine clearance in the field when criteria are met. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In January 2014, the Department of Health Services of the City of Los Angeles, California, implemented revised guidelines for cervical SMR after blunt mechanism trauma. Adult patients (aged ≥18 y) with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of ≥13 presented to a single level I trauma center after blunt mechanism trauma over the following 1-y period were retrospectively reviewed...

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study. OBJECTIVES: Analysis of epidemiological data about acute spinal cord injury (SCI) in the Czech Republic over a period of 10 years (2006-2015). METHODS: A data collection system was implemented in the rehabilitation centres which provides care to patients with acute SCI in the Czech Republic. The recorded variables are as follows: age at time of SCI; gender; cause of injury; neurological level of injury (NLI); and its severity (ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS))...

OBJECTIVE: Several studies have looked for an association between radiologic findings and neurologic outcome after cervical trauma. In the current literature, there is a paucity of evidence proving the prognostic role of soft tissue damage or bony integrity. Our objective is to determine radiologic findings related to neurologic prognosis in patients after incomplete acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury, regardless of initial neurologic examination results. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients with acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury who had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed within the first 96 hours...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The course of central and peripheral motor recovery after cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) may be investigated by electrophysiological measures. The goal of this study was to compare the 2 over the first year after injury in relation to motor gains. METHODS: Compound motor action potentials (CMAPs), motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), and F-waves were recorded from the abductor digiti minimi and CMAP and F-waves from abductor hallucis muscles in 305 patients at about 15 days, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months following an acute traumatic SCI...